AitareyaUpanishad is home to one of the well-known Mahavakayas of the Upanishads – Prajnanam Brahma meaning Consciousness I Am. Fascinating and enrapturing, this sacred text unravels the mysteries of creation and elucidates on the Supreme Knowledge of the Self.

‘Even the Creator is not free to create a world as he likes.’ We with our actions – known and unknown, conscious and unconscious – are making the blueprint of our future. The Lord is but a contractor, who executes our plans, as we give it to Him, asserts Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda.

The Great Rishis of the Upanishads explain to us that life is to be lived for the purpose of improving ourselves to reach the State of Super Consciousness. Hence the Upanishads are the sacred scriptures of the Hindus of which the Isavasya Upanishad is one of the shortest of its kind – a brief poem discussion the Self (Atman). The Sanskrit term “Isha Vasyam” literally translates to “enveloped by the Lord” and refers to the theory of Atman. Adi Sankara has commented on these verses in Sanskrit.

Kathopanishad is a unique Upanishad which starts with a Katha of a young boy who is ready to face the Lord of Death in his quest for Truth to know what lies beyond death.He asks the very pertinent and philosophical question is there or is there not, and if it is what is it?

In short this teaching is an extravaganza of spiritual knowledge and meditation that guides a student step by step to the glorious state of immortality, peace and bliss.

Kathopanishad is a unique Upanishad which starts with a Katha of a young boy who is ready to face the Lord of Death in his quest for Truth to know what lies beyond death.He asks the very pertinent and philosophical question is there or is there not, and if it is what is it?

In short this teaching is an extravaganza of spiritual knowledge and meditation that guides a student step by step to the glorious state of immortality, peace and bliss.

Shvetashvatara Upanishad, an important text on Vedanta starts with a discussion on the original cause of creation. Whilst exploring concepts of time, space, nature, power, deities, heaven, karma and elements, it gives us a divine vision of viewing this multidimensional and vast world. Through beautiful mantras, we understand the role of meditation, devotion, prayer, surrender, the Guru and scriptures in our life. It mainly reveals the true nature of God/Truth and establishes our essential Oneness with Him. With the thought-provoking reflections of Swami Tejomayananda, we cannot help but come to the conclusion, ‘ I am infinite and immortal in my true nature’.

Man is proud of his possessions and runs day and night after pleasures. Often power and position pose problems while his possessions and pleasures turn into pain. Observing the nature of the world one wonders – What is life all about? What is the purpose of human existence? If everything is fleeting, what is real and true? Such and many more questions come to the mind of most of us who think. Thus begins our search for a Guru.

Now imagine Lord Rama in the role of a questioning disciple and a Sage as His Guru and you have the Yoga Vashishtha, a great treasure of the highest knowledge and greatest stories, which answers multifold questions of life. Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda covers the entire philosophical thought of Sanatana Dharma in this series of talks.